TRAVIS COUNTY - Road crews are breaking ground on a new sustainable roadway in Eastern Travis County. The new 1.5 mile extension to Parmer Ln. from US 290 to SH 130 costs $9 million.

The cost is being split between Travis County, the City of Austin and developer Dwyer Realty, who has big plans for the 1,400 acres that surround the roadway known as Wildhorse Ranch.

What makes the new road unique is the way that water runs off it. Typically, roads are constructed with curbs that trap rain and runoff water and drain it into a concrete retention pond. This road will drain the water into ditches that have native Texas plants.

“We’ll trap that water and have it try to sink into the ground and then respire up into the atmosphere again to help it keep raining,” said Pete Dwyer, President of Dwyer Realty.

The surrounding development is planned to build out over a ten-year period with the first homes being constructed in early 2015. “We’ll have about 2,000 homes, 3,000 apartments and condos, and then a couple million sf for business,” said Dwyer.